(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for the formation of cigarette groups consisting of a plurality of cigarette layers to be received by a pack. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus wherein a cigarette layer is axially transferred from one of a plurality of parallel exit orifices of a cigarette funnel into a cell equipped with a tamping device adjustable relative to the cell floor via a control cam, and the cells are arranged for rotation coaxially with a group-forming turret and, in the transfer region from the cigarette funnel to the group-forming turret, the cells are in engagement with a control cam which aligns the cells with the exit orifices.
(2) Description of Prior Art
An apparatus of a type to which the invention relates is disclosed in German Patent document DE-A-3,331,745. In the latter German reference the cells of the group-forming turret are arranged in a stationary manner, so that exit orifices of the cigarette funnel have to be arranged correspondingly in alignment with the turret axis. This presents problems with regards to the production of a complete bottom-most layer of cigarettes which is to be pushed out in each case, since the particular layer to be pushed out does not lie horizontally, but obliquely. Furthermore, the tamping devices are retracted from the cigarettes before the group-forming turret reaches the standstill position for receiving the next row, and therefore errors can occur.
An apparatus of the general type described in the introduction is disclosed in French Patent document FR-A-944,485. In the latter French reference, tamping devices are continuously pivotable relative to the cell floor via cam portions. Therefore, apart from the fact that the devices subject the cigarettes of the first rows to stress at particular points in an undesirable way, the devices also release the cigarettes while the group-forming turret is still rotating.